Korian completes its transformation into a purpose driven company to strengthen its commitments to patients, families, employees and local communities

Korian launched a vast consultation in February 2022 to define its purpose and impact. All employees, as well as more than 1,500 patients, residents and family carers, associations, public officials, local authorities and investors, participated in the consultation.

As a result of this consultation, the Group is proposing to include in its articles of association a new purpose, common to all its activities: Take care of each person’s humanity in times of vulnerability.

This purpose is accompanied by five commitments to patients, family carers, employees and local communities: consideration, equity, innovation, proximity and sustainability.

The Group will launch its first ten concrete initiatives based on these commitments on 1st July, including:

• A "consideration score" as assessed by patients, residents and their family carers during each stay or care procedure,
• A company university enabling at least 6,000 employees to take part in graduating training programmes each year,
• Solidarity funds in the Group's main countries to assist employees facing personal difficulties,
• The reduction of the Group’s total energy consumption by 30% by 2026 compared to 2021. In addition, the Group commits to join the SBT initiative by July 2023 and to submit its low-carbon trajectory objectives by December 2023.

The Group will propose a European mission committee of thirteen people, composed equally of patient and resident representatives, employees and qualified personalities, whose mission will be to monitor the implementation of the initiatives taken by the Group, with the support of an independent third party, and will ensure that the voice of stakeholders is continually taken into account in the governance. This committee will present its published, annual report to the General Assembly.

To mark the transformation into a purpose driven company, a proposal will be made to the General Meeting to give the European company that owns the different activities a separate name: Clariane.

As part of the widened purpose of the company and the aim to accompany different times of vulnerability, both health related and old age, the Group is launching a new corporate project, “At your side”, focused on three priorities: supporting the shift to outpatient care with the link between home and residential care, strengthening its core capabilities through expertise, training and digital technology, and building a lasting pact of trust with stakeholders in each community.

Sophie Boissard, the Group's CEO, said: "The process of transforming into a purpose driven company has mobilised the entire Korian community and I would like to thank the stakeholders for their very rich contributions, which are a testament to the importance of our day-to-day role in the heart of our communities as well as showing the strong convergence of expectations and priorities of the different stakeholders.
Through the initiatives we are going to deploy, our ambition is to strengthen the relationship between patients and caregivers. We believe that we can create a positive impact through our commitment to support the health of our employees, their career advancement through training and by working closely with the local communities in each country. I am counting on the Mission Committee to enhance the quality of dialogue with our stakeholders and I am delighted that Dr Françoise Weber, who set up the Korian France Stakeholder Council, has agreed to chair it.”

The new purpose of the Company is the result of a broad consultation with all stakeholders. 1,500 people in the seven countries in which Korian operates participated directly: patients, groups representing families , employee representatives, local communities, ESG investors.... In addition, all employees were consulted individually.

By adopting the status of a pupose driven company, Korian has chosen to ensure that its impact on society is now enforceable.

The French National Assembly presently envisages a bill that would making it compulsory for all companies operating in the elderly sector to adopt the status of a purpose led company.

The resolutions proposed to the General Meeting of 15^th June 2023 will include the following amendments to the Articles of Association:

• the insertion of a purpose worded as follows: "To care for the humanity of each person in times of fragility", inspired by the Group's three values of trust, initiative and responsibility;
• five structuring commitments to the various categories of stakeholders: consideration, equity, innovation, proximity and sustainability;
• the creation of a mission committee composed of thirteen members representing in equal measure employees, stakeholder councils (including the families of patients and residents) existing in each country, and qualified personalities.
  Dr Françoise Weber, current Chair of the Korian France Stakeholder Council and former Deputy Director General of ANSES and Director General of Santé Publique France, is expected to chair this mission committee.
  Other prospective members of the mission committee are: Moira Allan, Stefan Arend, Jean-Marie Bockel, Etienne Caniard, Francesco Longo, Sofie Marckx, Antoine Maspétiol, Catia Piantoni, Pierre-Yves Pouliquen, Jérôme Vandekerkhove and Jacques Van der Horst.

In order to materialise the five commitments to be included in the statutes, the Group will deploy various initiatives in the coming months, in particular:

• the systematic use of a "consideration score" as perceived by residents, patients and their relatives, in order ensure that each person cared feels fully considered and respected for who they are.
• the creation of solidarity funds for the benefit of employees. It is essential to take care of those who are caring for patients and residents every day, Korian will strengthen its support for its employees who are going through difficult times by providing them with psychological and social assistance, through its network of social workers, whose number will be doubled in France, and temporary support, either financial or in kind, provided by the fund. This system, which will be operational in France from 2023, is in line with the actions undertaken over the past few years to combat precarious situations and prevent violence against women.
• the setting up of a helpline for all people who are confronted with a situation of health realted vulnerability for themselves or for a loved one. This line will be set up in France from 1st July 2023.
• the creation of a corporate university enabling each employee to participate, if they so wish, in a career advancement or skill development programme. This university will also offer freely accessible online courses.
• Korian is committed to being able, from 2023 onwards in France and later in all the countries it operates in, to offer at least 6,000 employees each year the opportunity to follow a training course leading to a diploma in its main professional fields (from level IV to I) provided by the company university or partner institutions.
• the reinforcing employee shareholding with the objective of doubling the share of capital held by the group's employees by 2026. Nearly 10,000 employees have already become shareholders, bringing the group's employee shareholding to 3%.
• the priority given to local and inclusive purchasing in order to limit the environmental impact of the Group's activities and thus contribute positively to the development of local communities and their economies , and to encourage the integration of vulnerable people or people in difficulty. Korian already promotes national suppliers (80% of purchases made in the country where it operated) and now wishes to increase the proportion of purchases made in the regions and/or from companies in the social and solidarity economy.
• the reduction of the carbon footprint linked to the energy consumed by the Group in order to limit our impact on climate change and to contribute to the European effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Korian is committed to reducing its total energy consumption by 30% by 2026 (base: 2021), by adapting its practices, equipment and buildings, and to reducing the proportion of fossil fuels used to less than 50%. In addition, the Group is committed to joining the Science-Based Target (SBT) initiative by July 2023 and to submitting its low-carbon trajectory targets by December 2023.
• the launch of six medical and clinical research projects across Europe with partner academic institutions, including the prevention and treatment of depression in the elderly, early detection of executive disorders and prevention of the risk of falls, and post-stroke neurorehabilitation.

To mark the adoption of these various commitments common to all the Group's activities, a proposal will be made to the General Meeting to give the European company, the Group's lead structure, a separate name, Clariane.

The Group will retain the various expert brands under which it operates today:

• for nursing homes: Korian, Seniors Residencias, Berkley...
• for healthcare facilities and services: Inicea, Ita, Grupo 5, Lebenswert...
• for the home and alternative housing: Petits-fils, Ages & Vie....

To support the deployment of all these transformations, the Group is launching a new corporate project, “At your side”.

Following on from its previous plan, “In Caring Hands”, this project extends its purpose from the elderly to all forms health related vulnerability. It focuses on three priorities, as close as possible to the health needs of the regions, and gives priority to an approach centered on the needs of the patient:

• supporting the shift to ambulatory care, particularly in the health network, and strengthening the links between home and institution, so as to develop prevention and local support for family carers.
• continuing to strengthen the fundamentals of the care professions, in particular the development of medical expertise in geriatrics, physical and rehabilitation medicine and psychiatry, anticipating recruitment needs and developing internal training courses to cover at least 50% of needs, and accelerating digitalization to improve the quality of care and increase the comfort of practice for employees;
• the construction of a lasting pact of trust, through the commitments and the extended governance set up within the framework of the purpose driven company.